Best Friend meets Texas
by banjo1988
Summary: After Riley let the cat out of the bag about Maya's feelings, Lucas starts to think about her in a way he never had before, right as Maya decides it's not worth getting hurt over. Will Lucas own up to his feelings and fight for her? Will Maya let him? ... Disclaimer: I do not own anything as awesome as GMW, Lucaya or any other pairing mentioned.
1. Chapter 1

Maya liked him? Lucas stared at the dying embers of the campire long after his friends had left. Riley had spilled the proverbial beans earlier that evening and surprisingly he and Maya had had a moment, an indefinable confusing and complicated moment but one nonetheless. Now he sat in his hometown under his sky, under his stars and thought about Maya Hart. The girl was a whirlwind; a terrifying, energetic, beautiful whirlwind. She was also vulnerable but tough in her own right, guarded but openly compassionate towards her friends. She was Riley in the sense that she too would do anything, sacrifice anything for her friends, evidently had done exactly that by pushing her feelings aside because her best friend felt the same things. Lucas wondered if Maya had felt something for him as far back as when she'd blatantly started and ended a fake relationship with him that day in the train. Even then, nervous about his new life in a new city and a new school, he had been completely taken aback by the burst of wild blonde hair and torrent of words that made no sense but still managed to amuse him. In hindsight, he realised that was Maya doing what she did best, making footprints for her wide-eyed and innocent best friend to follow in. With the wild, untameable freedom of the Texan land he'd grown up in, he searched his own heart for feelings he didn't know if he had, but he owed it to Maya to figure it out, maybe he even owed it to himself to find out.

Maya was hurting. A painful spiral of emotions crashed through her like a cacaphony of colour on a canvas; anger at Riley for bearing a heart that wasn't her own, confusion at the look in Lucas' eyes, hope that he might share her feelings, betrayal that her best friend had broken her confidence, humiliation that it had happened in front of all their friends. Maya didn't know where one emotion ended and the next began. She felt tired, spread thin, she needed her friend, only Riley was half the reason she felt this way. She was sitting on Pappy Joe's rocking chair, Lucas hadn't returned from the campfire and the others had gone to bed. She rocked slowly, nursing a cup of hot chocolate in her hand while her arm curled around her middle, cluthing her thin jersey to her. She wasn't cold, just needed to feel safe, some semblance of comfort in this strange and unfamiliar place that smelled and looked nothing like home. The sky was too big, the stars too bright and too many. It was disconcerting but beautiful, she wished absently that she had her canvas and her paints with her. The view was something she'd loved to have drawn, in another time, another night, before the drama had happened, before things had changed. As she sat, drinking her hot chocolate and staring at the sky, it didn't occur to her that Lucas needed to come back, that he had to pass her before going inside, she might of left had she realised.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas sighed and stood, his heart was still an open field of conflicting emotions, undecided and torn into directions he didn't even know had existed before that night. Realising that he was no closer to making a decision, he kicked dirt onto the last specks of fire and satisfied he wasn't going to start any bushfires, he headed back to his house, his grandfather's house, he reminded himself, even after all this time in New York he still hadn't gotten used to calling it his home. He heard soft creaking coming from the porch as he neared the house and smiled. Pappy Joe had waited up for him. As he drew closer, his smile faded, the person waiting for him, wasn't his grandfather. He placed a booted foot on the first step, unsure if he should disturb her. The soft thud of his foot broke into Maya's silent thoughts and her head jerked in his direction. The surprise on her face told him she hadn't specificially waited for him. He didn't know how he felt about that but filed it away as something else to think about. Making an instantaneous decision he took the seat next to her. She refused to look at him. He smiled.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

To his suprise, Maya was the first to speak.

"Yeah, it is, it's a view I'll never get tired of," he replied softly.

"I know, I wish I had time to paint it, I'd like to remember this, your home," she said, equally as soft. She felt him look at her but she couldn't return his gaze. Her heart had been put on the line that night by a choice not her own and she wasn't going to risk rejection, risk getting hurt. It was an ironclad decision she had made the day her father had walked out, a lesson she was too young to learn but she had learnt and learnt it well and no one was going to hurt her again.

"I wish you could too, it would be nice to be able to see a little piece of home in New York, and your work is so good, Maya, it really would feel like home."

Maya smiled, pleased by his words.

"New York still doesn't feel like home to you, does it?" she asked, choosing that moment to look at him. He sighed and looked away, back up at the sky.

"You make it feel like home, you and Farkle and Mr Matthews, and Riley," he said, honestly. He didn't want to hurt Maya by giving her hope where there might not be any. He hadn't figured that out yet.

Maya nodded, catching the end of the sentence, understanding what he was trying to say.

"But we can't compete with this," she went on, raising her arm and sweeping it across the sky. "All we have is apartment buildings, streetlights and thousands of people.  
You have stars, grass, animals, community, you have freedom," she finished, her voice as quiet as the surrounding landscape.

Lucas was watching her now, listening to her talk about his home, about hers. She could feel his eyes on her but didn't turn, lost in her own description of the startling beauty around her, even in the dim light of the porch.

Seeing her talk about his home as she was, Lucas realised with new insight how beautiful she really was, how vulnerable. Everyone thought Maya was so hard, so tough but she was also the smallest of the group, even Farkle looked down at her although not by much. But it was more than her height, despite her brave facade, there was a vulnerability to her, a silent plea she was unaware of that begged those around her not to hurt her. In that moment, Lucas was glad for the bright sunshine that was Riley, Riley kept Maya together, kept her a part of them, a part of something bigger. Looking at Maya now, he saw too how shiny her hair was, how silky it looked. He liked how the gold locks shone beneath the lamplight of the single lightbulb above them. Look at her smooth cheeks he realised something else. He'd always admired the glowing tan of Riley's skin but had never noticed the creaminess of Maya's. It looked soft, like a rose petal and suddenly he wanted to touch. He almost reached out then remembered himself and left his hand where it lay on his jean-clad thigh.

"Lucas?" Maya asked, her tone unsure beneath the hard focus of his sea green eyes.

"Yeah?"

"You're staring at me like I just turned blue."

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled dropping his gaze, at the same time realsiing he didn't want to. He also realised that he hadn't answered her.

"You're right but I'm not part of this life anymore, my place is with my friends and with my mom, New York may not feel like home yet but it is."

"I think I'm going to go to bed, I've had a liitle too much fresh air today," Maya mumbled, standing up; suddenly aware of the static tension between them. True they were talking as friends do, and there lingered a certain peace between them but there was also an underlying tension of unspoken words, unkwown feelings and unchartared waters. She had been through too much in the short time she'd been in Texas and it had been a long day. She needed to grasp what was left of her dignity and leave before Lucas decided to talk about it and open up a wound she'd just managed to close.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucas let her go but didn't follow her. He hadn't expected to see her again that night after they had all left the campfire and their brief discussion had opened up a valve of feelings that couldn't be tightened nor the flow stemmed. As he sat in his grandfather's old creaky chair, with the sounds of the wind whispering through the grass and the night animals stirring, an endless leakage of emotions filtered through him. Listening to Maya talk about his home, about her desire to paint it had filled him with a longing to share it with her. He found himself wishing much like she had that they could stay longer so he could show her all his favorite things, his favorite places. He wanted to show her the places he went when he needed to think, the places he went when he needed the quiet to listen, where his belief stemmed from. With a jarring awareness he hadn't had before, he realised that he hadn't felt this way with Riley, hadn't wanted to show her the heart of him, his true heart; his home. He was happy she was here to experience it with him, she was one of his best friends and a ray of sunshine in a city made dark by crime and the bustle of people too wrapped up in their own lives to care about others. He loved that she had stayed to watch his ride on Tombstone, even though he had seen the conflict in her eyes, battling her desire to go to her best friend. But he hadn't felt any need to go deeper, to take her to his old jaunts. He somehow understood it wouldnt mean the same to her as it would to Maya. Maya had had a hard life and because of it, had learned to appreciate the little things, the tiny details in a butterfly's wing, the intricate design of a spider's web. Riley had been sheltered, raised by two loving parents, adored by a younger brother who thought the world of his big sister and been given her every desire, not enough to spoil her but enough for her to keep the wide-eyed innocence of youth. Maya had lost that innocence, it hadn't made her a terrible person, it made her wise, smart and tough and Lucas loved that about her. She would appreciate the beauty of his home, had done so already just by admiring the sky and wanting to paint it. She would love the lake he'd swam in as a child, the rope swing he'd used to dive in, the old tire hanging from the giant oak tree, the branches and leaves hanging out over the water providing a shady spot to wade in. She'd love the meadow he'd run in, the dandelions casting it a yellow carpet of possibilities. She'd love his treehouse he and Pappy Joe had built, might even climb up with him, she was adventurous like that, ready to experience anything life would give her the opportunity to try. Lucas smiled, a full grin that spread across his face. He knew he looked like an idiot sitting alone on the porch with a big dopey smile on his face but it had just occured to him, in his quiet solitude that he liked Maya. Liked her as she liked him, liked her as equally as he discovered he'd never be able to like Riley. They were the same, too much alike; when Riley had told him she viewed him as a brother, he'd been flabbergasted, shocked to the core at the utalitarian description of their "relationship" but now in the wake of his discovery, he realised she'd been right. They were like brother and sister, she was the female version of him and he the male of hers, she didn't challenge him, didn't spark the same fire in him that Maya did. He felt protective of Riley and would physically dismantle anyone who dared hurt her but he didn't feel like Riley needed it, not like Maya. Maya with her disbelief whenever he said something nice as if it was a shock to her that he could possibly care for her. It was Maya and the golden moments when she decided to treat him nicely and it became a shock to him that she too cared about him. He felt like the biggest jerk for sticking his head in the sand like an overgrown ostrich content in his own ignorance of the deeper feelings of his friend. Maya, for all her blonde perfection and her fire and her quick wit, needed him, needed him to like her. She challanged him, she sparked something in him that drew him out of the shell the rest of humanity had put him in, labelling him as a golden boy. Maya was good for him, he'd thrive with her same as she would with him. He stood, clenching his jaw at the slow whine of the chair, afraid he'd wake the rest of the household inside. Now that he'd made his decision, he wanted morning to come, wanted to make his grand declaration to the girl he suspected he may have liked all along.

Maya lay in the small single bed in the room she was sharing with Riley. Her friend had long since fallen into the deep sleep of a happy child but Maya couldn't. There were too many things on her mind. Lucas, of course was a giant flashing neon sign in her brain that just wouldn't switch off. Something had happened between them, at the campfire then on the porch but she couldn't figure out what. Her head railed at her to be like Riley, if she wanted Lucas she'd have to change and be like her goofy best friend, maybe not the goofy part because Maya instinctively knew she'd never pull off that happy-go-lucky vibe but the way Riley cared about everything and everyone and still held onto the faith and beliefs learned all those years ago at sunday school, that was how she would get Lucas but her heart and spirit rebelled, throwing that thought out as easily as a used tissue. She could never change, never be someone else, never be Riley and would never want to. She liked Lucas and ached for him to like her the same way but she also wanted and needed him to like her for who she was, for Maya. She also realised perhaps prematurely or perhaps it was her mind's way of protecting her heart, that Lucas would never like her, not over Riley. The two seemed made for each other, two halves of the same coin, heads to tails, you couldn't get one without the other. She was a fool for ever believing that she stood a chance. Instead, she'd just made herself a laughing matter, the joke of the group, the poor misfit who'd fallen in love with her best friend's boy. Maya gritted her teeth. This wasn't like her at all, putting her heart on the line, open and exposed, practically holding out the knife for anyone to hurt her with. True, it hadn't been her that actively put herself against the wall waiting for the firing squad but it had still happened and here she was; cold and alone in the undisturbed silence of her room and hurting for the friendship that she had probably just ruined in a selfish need to be the one someone chose, instead of taking the backstage seat to Riley's success as she'd done from the time they were little. No, it ended tonight. Riley had done considerable damage opening her mouth but there was a reaon politicians had PR teams and radiation outbreaks had the HAZMAT guys, everyone needed a little damage control sometimes and Maya was going to do hers tomorrow. She would tell Lucas that Riley had misunderstood, that she liked him as only a friend could. She'd tell him that Riley had lied about her own platonic feelings, if he knew Riley had real feelings, he'd choose her in a heartbeat and forget about this little hurdle. It was only a little bump in the road on the journey that was Lucas and Riley's relationship. Decision made, Maya rolled over and pulled the covers up to her chin letting the sweet gentle fingers of sleep claim her.


	4. Author's Note

Hey guys, I know it's a little soon in the story for an author's note and usually I wouldn't waste your time with it but I just wanted to say thanks for reading and reviewing and having patience, my laptop has been dead due to a charger malfunction and has only now decided to come out from hibernation. I am so happy to be able to write again and finish my version of how I want things to go in the show. I may be off with certain facts and definitely twisting the timeline a little to suit me but hey I suppose it's called a writer's prerogative for a reason. Once again, thanks for reading and hope you all enjoy.


	5. Chapter 4

"Maya wake up; it's a new day, a wonderful new day."

Maya groaned and rolled over, unwilling to open her eyes to the face that matched that all too happy voice. Having been awake most of the night, Maya was exhausted and not at all in the mood for bright sunshine and her overly excited friend.

"Maya get up now," Riley tried for sternness but the exasperated giggle that followed stole all authority from her command. Realizing her ineffectiveness, Riley grabbed the pillow from beneath her friend's head and swatted her with it.

Maya grunted at the unexpected impact and battled her way through the soft mound of feathers and cotton and sat up. Her hair was mussed and her eyes betrayed her sleepiness, a fact cemented by the large yawn that followed.

"OK, I'm up I'm up," she complained, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and curling her toes against the cold as they connected with the wooden floor. "Man these Huckleberries really need to get a floor-heating system going, the mornings are way too cold here," she helpfully suggested to absolutely no one. Riley, upon seeing Maya awake had left the room in a swirl of brown leather skirt, her idea of a strong western woman. Maya ambled to their shared bathroom to brush her teeth and hair, all the memories of the night before coming back to haunt her. Her plan hadn't changed, she was nervous, very uncharacteristically so, to see Lucas again. She dressed in contemplative silence, wondering just how awkward it was going to be. She had on a pair of white denim cutoffs (she would have worn shorts but wasn't prepared to exploit her too-white legs) and a red checkered shirt with two tails tied across her middle. Placing a straw hat on her head she headed for the door, both ready yet not to see her friends. The room quieted as she entered and Maya almost turned back to her room. She had known it would be awkward but hadn't expected the raw silence and pitiful stares. Lifting her chin she went to the table and sat next to Riley who sported her 'concerned Riley' smile.

"So what's for breakfast, Grandpa Huckleberry?" she snapped, desperately needing to break the silence and defecting to her default state of crack a joke seemed the best way. The group laughed right on cue and Pappy Joe shoveled a heaping pile of scrambled eggs and bacon onto her plate. Maya's eyes went wide at the size of the portion. She heard Lucas laugh and bravely chanced a glance his way. He was looking at her, his eyes open and friendly but Maya didn't look too long, though she had already made her decision, she didn't want to see affirmation in his eyes. "Well, anybody got a spade? We'll need a shovel to dig through these eggs," She quipped before tucking into the hearty meal, the sound of everyone's laughter filing her ears.

She seemed alright, to his eyes at least, a little sad if he had to search for a definable emotion. He wondered at its cause but knew it wasn't the time. They were all spending the day together, first heading into town to shop and then he was taking them to the lake to swim, he couldn't wait to see Maya's face when she saw the quiet storybook setting of his natural swimming pool. He hoped to get a few moments alone with her so he could tell her how he felt but wasn't going to push for it if it didn't happen. Today was about friendship and enjoying the hot Texan summer together on their last day in his hometown. The group left straight after breakfast in Pappy Joe's old blue pick-up truck. It was a tight fit considering the small nature of the seats so Lucas volunteered to sit out back on the truck bed, he hoped Maya would offer to sit with him but Zay thought it would be fun; something they had always done as children was to sit out in the open air while Pappy Joe drove them around. The trip wasn't long; they didn't stay too far from town and Pappy Joe, who had no interest in spending the day with children, told them he would fetch them at the 5pm that afternoon from the lake and left as soon as he'd had his say. They thanked him, Riley even gave him a hug, something Maya very shyly did as well but it made Lucas smile. He hadn't forgotten her comment about wishing she too had her own Pappy Joe.

"OK, where too oh great and noble leader," Maya joked, linking her arm with Riley and glancing at Lucas with mischief in her eyes. For all intents and purposes, Maya was doing her very best to keep things as they were, holding on to the status quo. He would let her, for now. He smiled back, equal mischief in his own eyes.

"You'll see, short-stack," he teased back, knowing how it infuriated her. She narrowed her eyes, her mouth opened, a retort poised on her lips when he strolled past and tapped her chin with one long finger. "Oh no you don't, there will be no Huckleberry today, no Ranger Rick, Roy or Long John which for all I know has been brewing in your head too and most importantly no Huh Hurring," he warned her.

Her mouth had closed the moment his finger touched her chin and her big blue eyes watched him with muted confusion but also simple understanding. Much like the wisdom he'd had earlier that morning, she too now came to understand, today was about friendship, no name-calling, no playful bullying, just the pleasure of spending the day with each other; best friends – family. She nodded but pulled her face away from his touch.

"Fine, none of the above, Farmer Fred," she laughed, patting his shoulder on her way past him. He chuckled but knew it was the last name, at least for that day. Lucas led them on a hasty tour through the small town. They wanted to shop and they did, Riley and Maya both buying two new shirts and Farkle buying a new hat but it was a mutual agreement that the majority of the day was to be spent at the lake, swimming. The lake wasn't far from the town, it was the beauty of the small town in fact, even those without cars were still mobile, able to enjoy what Texas had to offer. They had lunched at the local diner and straight after the hearty meal, they started the walk to the lake. The group was quiet, enjoying the quiet peacefulness of the scenic road. Maya was once again lost in an artist's vision. Her eyes didn't see trees and ground and endless space. What she saw were tall, green trees – canopies of needed shade, hard compact earth pebbled with stones and tufts of grass, the hot sun streaming down in an array of gold and warmth. It was a scene she once again wished she could paint. She felt someone fall into step beside her and broke off her wistful thinking to look at her sudden companion. Her eyes met those of Lucas and her heart sped up to match the soft thuds of her footsteps.

"You're wishing you could paint this aren't you?" he asked quietly.

She jerked another sharp glance his way. When had he become so intuitive?

"How did you know?" she asked back, equally as quiet. She saw Riley glance back to look at them but couldn't read the look in her friend's eyes.

"Art is something you love, Maya, how could I not know you would want to paint this?" he said back, sweeping his arm over the panoramic view.

She smiled softly, wanting so badly to read between the lines but she knew she would only be making it up, casting feelings where there were none.

"I do want to paint it, ever since I got here, I've wanted to paint it all, it makes me wonder how you can stand to live in New York," she said. Her words so closely echoed her musings of the night before that they both fell silent, their thoughts going back to what had laid this thick blanket of awkwardness over them. Maya opened her mouth to tell Lucas that Riley had misread her feelings but stopped when she saw her friend headed their way. It wasn't the time or the place and they needed to be alone for that conversation.

"Hey Lucas, Maya," Riley said excitedly as she reached them.

"Hey Riley," Maya and Lucas said at the same time then smiled shyly at each other. It did not go unnoticed to Maya how Riley's head went back and forth between the two of them, the same unreadable look in her eyes.

"So Lucas, this lake we're going to, is it where you always used to swim as a child?" Riley asked, interested to hear about her friend's childhood. She, Maya and Farkle had all known each other since they were eight but Lucas was a mystery to them.

"Yeah, my mom used to bring me here from the time I could swim," he smiled suddenly at the memory. "Actually, Pappy Joe tossed me in and said 'swim boy, nobody's jumping into save you.'"

"He did that? That's horrible," Riley shivered, thinking of Lucas as a child and being told his family wouldn't save him.

"So what happened, you drown Huckle-?" she cut herself off remembering she'd promised no name calling.

"I swam, I kicked my legs and moved my arms and I was off, never looked back since, Pappy Joe said it was the way he was taught to swim, he said, 'Lucas, a man needs to learn to look after himself, the world is a hard place and if you don't learn, no one is going to waste time teaching you.'" The girls were looking at him with equal looks of surprise. Riley had a sheltered life, Maya didn't but both had been taught what they needed to know, Maya in the bustling halls of John Quincy Adams and Riley in the safe confines of her New York apartment.

"It's OK guys, I learnt a lot from Pappy Joe, he taught me everything he knows of the world," he said soothingly, seeing the looks on their faces. Maya recovered first and gave him a nudge.

"Gee Lucas, I almost felt sorry for you there," she laughed and moved off to walk with Farkle and Zay. Lucas watched her go, wondering what thoughts were going through that blonde head of hers. She seemed different this morning, uneasy like she was sitting on a time bomb and didn't quite know how to get off. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or something far worse.

"You like her too, don't you?" Riley asked softly, sadly. She'd been watching Lucas' face as he'd been watching Maya and despite her youth, wisely understood the meaning of the emotional display on his face. Lucas glanced down at her. He read two things on her face. One, surprisingly made little difference to his current state of heart and the other, made him realise the true depth of the friendship between Riley and Maya, the sacrifices both had made and would still make for the other's happiness. He realized now that Riley had lied to him, she didn't see him as a brother as she had claimed, if he was judging it correctly, she still liked him as strongly as she always had. He realized too that she had deliberately taken herself out the equation so as to give her best friend a chance at love. Lucas suddenly wanted to hug her, because of Riley's utter sacrifice, feelings had woken inside him, feelings he had subconsciously kept buried. Riley had always been the safe option, she was an amazing friend, a truly amazing person, no-one could take that away from her and she deserved to be loved for those very reasons but she was safe, too much like him to be a danger; a threat, to his heart. Maya was a risk, if she didn't return his feelings, he'd be hurt, he'd suffer and though the boy had not known this, subconsciously, his heart and mind had been in unison and protected him by drumming up feelings of security, of young love for Riley. Feelings he had taken to heart and honestly thought he'd felt until Riley herself had upset the proverbial apple cart. Now, he was old enough to know what he'd felt for Riley wasn't the same as what he now felt for Maya, like all this time he'd been making a magic potion without the main ingredient and expecting it to work with a substitute.

"Lucas?" Riley asked when he'd been quiet too long.

"Yes, I do, is that OK?" he asked back, shaking out of his reverie.

She looked at her feet.

"I don't know, we're all just kids, Lucas, I don't know what this means for us, that day on the train, if I hadn't seen you first, maybe if Maya had, it would have been me taking a step back for her then instead of n-," she snapped her mouth shut realizing what she had been about to say.

"So it's true? You do still have feelings for me?" Lucas hadn't missed the slip up, it didn't change anything knowing the truth but in order for them all to come out of this intact, they needed the absolute truth.

"I'm sorry, Lucas, when I found out that Maya liked you too, that she had taken a step back for me because of my feelings, how could I not do the same for her?" she admitted.

Unable to help himself, he reached down and hugged her, bringing their easy walk to a standstill. She returned his hug but he could see the uncertainty in her eyes.

"Riley, you're one of my best friends, you know I love you and I love how you are with Maya, that you would sacrifice your own feelings for the sake of hers but because of that, I've had to think about things, about how I'm feeling and I think that maybe I've liked Maya all along, I'm not saying that I didn't have feelings for you too, I did but I think that underneath all that, my feelings for Maya have just kind of been there, waiting for me to realize them, and now, I-?" he paused, taking a deep breath of clean Texan air before continuing. "I just want to be with her."


	6. Chapter 5

_"_ _I just want to be with her."_

The words careened through her like a high speed train off its rails and without a driver. She felt a jarring pain slice through her heart and knew instantly that this was heart break. This was what it felt like and Riley knew she would never forget this moment. Her life was just one endless scrapbook of memories and this would be another page; two pages and counting judging by the feel of the pain in her heart. This wasn't supposed to happen; when she'd discovered Maya's feelings and done what any good best friend would do she'd never imagined she'd lose her first love. Lucas was supposed to like her, even when she'd stepped back, it had been with the idealism of youth that told her it was a safe step, the steadfast belief that she needed to let Maya realise her own feelings and have her chance but with the self-assurance that it would blow over and Lucas would return to her, firmer in his feelings and they could take their friendship to the level they hadn't quite made it to before. But Lucas returning Maya's feelings and forgetting all about her, had never entered her mind; she thought in what she now saw was foolishness that she had completely underestimated her friend and not only Maya but the interactions between her and Lucas. Clearly the daily bantering and teasing was a prelude, a hint to something deeper and Riley wanted to cry at lost dreams and shattered hopes, at a future of high school sweethearts and white picket fences that could no longer be. She felt bereft at the loss of a love she would never have. Utter hopelessness, perhaps dramatically so but hopelessness nonetheless at the absolute certainty that there was nothing she could do to change what had happened. Lucas had chosen Maya, that's all there was to it. She wasn't the kind of person or the kind of friend who would play sabotage for personal gain. She needed to deal, to accept, to learn to adjust and adapt to the relationship that would blossom right in front of her, it was either that or convince her parents to move, an unrealistic thought made absently in jest she neither wanted nor needed. She was almost thirteen, she could handle this, she had her family and Lucas and Maya were still her friends. Someday, someday she would be fine again.

Lucas watched her face carefully as Riley stared back at him, hiding nothing of what she felt. Shock and hurt flashed across her face but he could see her trying to be brave, to accept it. The fact that resentment had been the one emotion he hadn't seen spoke volumes to the kind of friendship that the two girls had. Riley was trying to smile at him and a wave of tenderness rolled through him. She was still his friend when it came down to it, always would be and he hated to see her hurting, hated that he was the cause of it but it was the only outcome he could have foreseen for the situation they found themselves in. Inevitably one or more was going to get hurt. He was sorry it was Riley but knew he would have hated it more if it had been Maya, yet another brick falling into place in the structure that was his certainty of his feelings towards Maya. Maya had been hurt enough in her life and he was determined he would never be on the list he knew she held in a mental barrier, a record of all the people in her life who had hurt her and destroyed her trust and faith in humanity. Pulling back he chucked Riley under her chin, letting her know without words that he would always be there for her in the only capacity he had left to give, a true friend.

Maya flipped a lock of hair back as she laughed at something Zay had said, movement behind her catching her eye. She turned her head to face the duo walking slowly behind them, her smile dying slowly on her lips as the scene played out before her. She saw Lucas and Riley stop with Lucas pulling Riley into his arms, saw the smile on Riley's face and knew in a second that Lucas had made his choice, taken her own plan out of her hands, there was no longer any need to tell him Riley had lied, clearly her friend had come clean, unable to stifle her feelings the same way Maya had been able to. Maya tore her gaze away from them, unable to watch much longer, she couldn't see them kiss. She was out in the open, their remaining friends surrounding her, the two roots of her pain a few feet away, she had no way to deal, to cope under the vigil of her friends, no space to rebuild her walls, to pull herself together. No, she would need privacy and solitude for that, so that in the future she could tolerate their relationship, to see them kiss but for now; now she couldn't watch, couldn't let the innocent consummation of their budding relationship imprint itself onto her mind and sneak past the barriers around her heart to forever play repeat in her soul.

"Maya, are you alright?" Farkle asked seeing the pain flash across her face before her mask slipped back up.

"Yeah, I just realized I forgot to ask my mom to feed Ginger before we left," Maya lied smoothly and so convincingly that Farkle shrugged, seemingly unconvinced.

"Your mom knows you have Ginger, I'm sure she'll remember to feed her," Farkle said, thinking of the ferret Maya owned that Lucas was convinced was a giant New York rat.

"I'm sure; if she even dares to go in my room, my mom's terrified of Ginger," Maya agreed, carried away in her own lie, now realizing she truly hadn't thought of Ginger when she'd left with Riley to join Lucas and the rest of their friends in Texas. She also knew Farkle was right, dissipating her sudden unexpected worry; her mom did know of Ginger and would do right by her daughter's pet. She chanced one more glance at the two behind them but saw they were hurrying to catch up to the rest of the group. They weren't holding hands and for all intents and purposes did not seem to be any closer than usual after their 'newfound' relationship but Maya wasn't a fool, she knew they were trying to be kind for her sake. She met Lucas' eyes once before quickly looking away, once again, she didn't want affirmation, to add to the pain she was feeling. They reached the lake after that and suddenly the drama and the heartache of the past few days just fell away and they were kids again. Riley linked her arm through Maya's and the two girls grinned at each, the day's endless possibilities running through their minds. Lucas and Zay shared their own easy smile of memories past and Farkle stared at the scene before him with the intelligent wonder of a scientist who was still, in the grand scheme of things, a child.

"So Lucas, what's the plan?" Maya asked, mildly pleased at the lack of any obvious distress in her voice. To her own ears, she sounded like her usual unconcerned self. Lucas shot her a glance, wanting to pour all the newly discovered feelings into the look but he held back; to his eyes, Maya looked as interested in him as she would be in a passing bird.

"Well, the sun's as hot as any self-respecting Texan sun should be so swimming would be as a good a place as any to start," he suggested. Wide smiles were his reply as the group simultaneously stripped down to their swimwear and ran pell-mell into the lake. Lucas watched with a smile as Maya and Riley started splashing each other in raucous abandon. Maya looked happy; relaxed and carefree, a look that suited her. Her long blonde hair hung over her shoulders like a wet curtain of spun gold; her eyes even from this distance were shining with joy. He watched her another second before slipping out of his t-shirt and jeans leaving only his swimming shorts and running to join them. Maya glanced back as she felt him come up behind her but she wasn't given a minute's warning before she felt her legs leave the ground. A second later, she was in Lucas' arms. She wasn't given the chance to think about _being_ in Lucas' arms before he carried her into deeper water and then dropped her. She came up spluttering, a sharp glare on her face as she stared open mouthed at him, her lips moving with unspoken words like a fish out of water. He simply grinned back at her unrepentantly and Maya, not ready to have the 'talk' yet, chose to assume it was meant platonically. She flung her arm through the water sending a cascade of water over Lucas' body. He laughed as he wiped his face.

"I declare war, Tombstone Todd," she proclaimed, starting the attack. Wave after wave of water hit him before her arms grew tired and he had but a moment to respond before the next onslaught began. They splashed each other over and over, laughing and teasing, feeling once again like the carefree children they should have been.

"Alright, alright, I surrender, stop," Lucas pleaded after he coughed his way through another mouthful of water. When Maya only grinned at him with a proud toss of her head, he splashed towards her and pulled into his arms, barricading her own arms to her sides preventing her attack. The water settled around them as he held her and suddenly it wasn't about the war anymore, it wasn't about friendship and the peacefulness surrounding them, the electricity all but crackled between them as Maya became aware that Lucas was holding her, in a way friends did not hold each other. She looked up at him and saw something on his face that shouldn't have been there, not with what she had decided had happened between he and Riley; he needed to be looking at Riley like he was now looking at her.

Lucas stared down at her, all his feelings showing on his face as held Maya close, she felt wonderful in his arms and he ached to kiss her. They were young but he'd had his first kiss; with Riley and he wondered if Maya had had hers. He wondered if now was the time but the sound of laughter and voices filtered through to his ears and decided his first kiss with Maya wasn't going to be with an audience. He felt twin hands pushing at his chest and reluctantly opened his arms, Maya bolted the moment she was free, returning to her best friend, a sanctuary she needed more than anything, an escape to avoid the feelings swarming within her.

The rest of the day was spent swimming, sunbathing on the warm banks of the lake, they took turns diving into the lake with Lucas's rope swing and talking about anything and everything as true friends could. Maya took great care to avoid Lucas again after their interlude in the lake. She had no idea what had come over him or what any of it meant but it succeeded in throwing her under the proverbial bus. She was left wondering if she was doing the right thing by pulling her feelings back and then in her next thought decided it was a necessity. She felt like she was hanging upside down in a an animal trap with the release lever a few inches from her outstretched hands, so close but just out of her reach. She felt Lucas' gaze more than once throughout the afternoon but by the time the sun's warmth began to dissipate and Pappy Joe's truck ambled over the hill towards them and they packed up their things to go home, they had not spoken and she was no closer to understanding what had happened between them.


	7. Chapter 6

It was a tired, bedraggled group that sat around the campfire one last time that night. No-one spoke; the peacefulness surrounding them was almost tangible and no one wanted to disturb it. Maya and Riley sat side by side, smiling at each other, for the moment or at least for that night the tension forgotten. Pappy Joe broke the silence a few minutes later regaling __them with stories of Lucas' childhood and growing up in Texas. The others listened with rapt attention, hungry for any information on Lucas as a boy. When the stories were finished and the fire a pile of glowing embers, they all shuffled off to bed, all too tired for further conversation. Even Maya with all the conflicting thoughts rattling in her brain fell asleep the instant her head hit the pillow. The next morning was a flurry of activity as baggage was loaded into the truck, tickets were checked and sleepy eyes wiped over a breakfast fit for Texan bellies. The 2 hour plus flight to New York was an uneventful one as they hadn't all been able to get seats together. Riley and Maya talked casually about nothing in particular until they landed and saw Cory and Topanga waving at them.

"Hi girls, how was your trip?" Cory said giving Maya a hug as Riley hugged Topanga.

"It was – um, fun?"

Cory and Topanga exchanged glances at each other at the uncertainty in their daughter's voice, neither missing the upward lift at the end of her sentence, implying doubt behind her words. With a raised eyebrow Cory glanced down at Riley who had now come to give him a hug.

"Do we want to know?" he asked gently. He knew without a doubt Riley would tell them when she was ready. She always shared with them, kept them a part of her life, of her growth.

"Maya likes Lucas," she stated simply. Cory and Topanga looked at each other again, this time in surprise. They hadn't expected this.

"So what happened?" Topanga now asked.

"Riley told him and now things are different," Maya replied. She and Riley hadn't really talked about all that had happened; Maya still wasn't ready to have her suspicions confirmed so the two had skirted the topic with great care.

"Feelings do make things different but we still have to feel them, it's a part of growing up," Cory said.

"Cut it out Matthews, no lessons it's still weekend," Maya complained.

"Sorry Maya, I'm a teacher it's what I do," he retorted.

Maya rolled her eyes and Cory laughed at his rebel student.

"How about some ice-cream? Will that make the lesson easier to swallow?' he asked. He was rewarded with serene smiles of agreement and the family with its extended member headed to Topanga's for ice-cream.

They were sitting in the bay window, arms crossed and legs stretched out hesitation obvious on their faces. Neither one wanted to bring up the subject of all that had happened yet both knowing they needed to. Maya wanted to hold on to false hope just a little bit longer and Riley for one selfish moment didn't want to expose how close Maya was to getting what she wanted. One selfish moment, that was all she allowed herself for in the next second she realized she couldn't hurt her best friend like that; in her mind Maya was probably beating herself up over liking the same boy her best friend did and hurting too, thinking she didn't stand a chance. Riley couldn't let her keep hurting like that, it wasn't in her nature.

"Peaches?"

"Yes Riles?" Maya said, looking across at her friend.

"I'm sorry for telling your secret like that," she smiled, a small sad smile. "I knew you would never tell him and it was hurting you keeping it in like that but it was still wrong of me and I'm sorry," she finished.

"It's OK, Riley, I'm not upset, I was then but you're right, it needed to be said and I wouldn't have but I know he chose you and I can deal with it, it will be hard but I'll get through it as long as you're happy, I shouldn't ha-,"

"Lucas likes you, Maya," Riley cut in.

Maya blinked for a second but went on as though she hadn't heard.

"I shouldn't have tried to come between you, of course he likes you, it's always been you," she hurriedly said.

"Maya you're not listening, he didn't pick me he chose you, he likes you."

"No Riles, he likes you, I saw him hug you and he-."

"Maya," Riley said loudly, reaching over to grab Maya's shoulders and gently shaking her. "You're not listening, he likes you, he told me so himself," Riley said smiling at her friend waiting for her to comprehend her words.

Maya froze and stared back but then shook her head again.

"There's no way, he was probably just saying it to put it off, he knew you'd handle it better and didn't want to ruin the rest of the trip, yeah that's it, he's always liked you, he just think I'm a bully," she railed at her friend, suddenly feeling frantic to make her friend understand.

'No Maya, he talked to me, he hugged me as a friend, I know this, why don't you?" she replied vehemently, now that she had come to terms with her first love not loving her back, it was equally as important to her that her best friend be happy, that Maya understand Lucas' true feelings.

Maya shook her head and stood up, Riley wasn't listening and she could no longer stand to hear the lies that her friend seemed to believe as truth.

"I need to go, Riley I'll see you tomorrow for school," she said and climbed out the window, not giving Riley a spare moment to stop her. Riley watched her go and sat back, defeated. What now? If Maya wouldn't believe her, maybe she'd believe Lucas. She'd talk to him tomorrow and tell him he needed to make his intentions clear to Maya or neither of them would ever be happy. Decision made she went to join her family.

Maya felt like she was on a cloud and not in the blissfully happy cloud 9 kind of way, she felt like there the was only fluffy air beneath her, nothing concrete and nothing safe. She'd spent the night in a restless in-between zone, not awake not asleep and had spent the day avoiding her friends as much as possible (considering they had the same classes), preparing herself for the big talk she knew she had to have after school. She'd seen glimpses of her friends here and there throughout the day and shied away each time at the concern she saw on their faces. At one point she'd seen Riley in deep conversation with Lucas even saw Lucas get angry at one point but she'd told Riley she could handle it and she would. Running away and avoiding it entirely was handling it, right? The bell rang signaling the end of school and the haunting echo of the bell sounded in her ears long after the crowd of children made their mass exit. When the halls cleared; Maya was standing by their bench and saw her friends waiting with her. It was an unspoken thing, they were all so in sync with each other or was it just that the buildup of tension since Texas had to be relieved somewhere and everyone just knew it would be that day, here, now? She saw Riley and Lucas standing next to each other and Zay and Farkle off to the side, both looking utterly clueless as to what was going on but willing to be there for their friends anyway. Lucas was watching her, an unreadable emotion on his face. Riley was holding on to his arm but swiftly dropped her hand upon seeing Maya. Maya noticed it all but only vaguely, out of her peripheral vision; she couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from the blue green ones of Lucas. Riley stepped away and motioned to Farkle and Zay who followed her out the front entrance of the school leaving Maya and Lucas completely alone. Alone, Maya dropped her gaze, she'd been wrong she couldn't handle it, couldn't bear it. Maybe she'd ask her mom to move, then she wouldn't have to face the reality of the boy she liked being with another girl. No, she roughly dismissed that idea in the mental argument she was having with herself. She'd never leave Riley; ring power would never allow it even if she tried. She felt fingers on her face and jerked back to the present, away from her thoughts. Lucas was in front of her, his fingers lightly touching her cheek, an expression on his face she could not see in her blind vehemence to do the honorable thing.

"Lucas, I need to tell you something," she said softly, horrifyingly close to tears.

"I need to tell you something too, Maya," he said just as softly, almost tenderly. He was _not_ blind to facial expressions, in fact, now that he had talked to Riley and it was all out in the open save for the one that mattered, his mind was clear, so clear he could see the pain and fear that Maya was trying so hard to hide. It made him want to hug her, to pull her into the safety of his arms where nothing or no one would ever be able to hurt her. But he made himself wait, _it_ could wait.

"Me first, Huckleberry," Maya valiantly threw in; needing some last grasp on familiarity, hoping the jaunt would give her bravery.

"OK," he replied, smiling slightly. He didn't think Maya was aware, standing so close to each other as they were that he could read all her feelings on her face. Knowing her, she would hate that idea but he enjoyed the rare show of her inner emotions, Maya didn't often let them see _her_.

"I know you've talked to Riley but I don't know if she would have said anything but what she told you is a lie, Lucas, Riley doesn't see you as a brother, she still likes you a lot and I don't know why she thinks I do but she was wrong about that, of course I like you, Lucas, as a friend but that's all it is, so now you know, now you can be with Riley and you don't have to worry about hurting me because it's not like that anymore," Maya gushed out, afraid if she talked slowly she'd change her mind and spill her real secrets, the truth. She finally looked up at Lucas and saw utter shock spread over his features as evident to her as if they'd been written in block letters on his face. He _hadn't_ known, whatever Riley had talked to him about it hadn't been that. She knew he was shocked to find out that Riley still liked to him but the shock wouldn't last, he would go, soon she assumed, to claim Riley as his girlfriend, finally making the step they hadn't gotten to the last time.

"Maya-," Lucas started.

"No Lucas it's OK, go, be with Riley, we both know that's who it always would have been," she smiled as she ushered him towards the door. Not quite understanding what was happening, she managed to move him but then he dug in his heels and wouldn't budge. Maya didn't like him anymore? According to Riley she did and would Riley really be wrong about something like that? He'd even gotten angry with Riley for talking to Maya before he could but had it all been for nothing? Wasn't it more realistic that Maya was stepping back once again? Could he risk being wrong about that, declare his feelings and have her genuinely laugh in his face? Doubt and misgivings crept in as he stood, breathing hard watching her.

Equally as confused as to why he was still standing there looking like his heart was breaking; Maya decided it was time to go. "I'm going home, Lucas, I'll see you tomorrow," she said and left.

Lucas stood watching her go, absolutely dumbfounded. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wait, what?' were his final words of total confusion before he too left to go home and ponder what had just happened.


	8. Chapter 7

_**NB! Spoiler Alert**_

 _ **I'm so sorry for the delay, Girl meets Ski Lodge part 1 & 2 totally just took the wind out of my sails and I haven't really felt like writing but I couldn't leave it unfinished so here I am trying to scrape together the last of my truly wishful thinking - for lack of a better expression. Hope you Lucaya fans out there are still enjoying this story seeing as it apparently isn't going to happen in the show… **_

It was her fault, she had broken them. They were all silent, a morbid uncomfortable silence where no one knew what to say to each other. The easy friendship they had all shared was broken. Lucas spent most of the day staring at Maya, Riley spent most of the day staring between Lucas and Maya, Farkle and Zay were taking their cues from the triangle and Maya spent most of the day staring at her desk. She could feel Lucas' gaze on her. It burned into her back during history and seared into her peripheral vision in science. But she could not look at him. The hurt was too much. She had thought she would fix everything, put everything back the way it was when she had told Lucas she didn't have any feelings for him. She had thought he would go straight to Riley and things would go back to the way they were but she was wrong. Nothing was as it had been. The utter silence and awkward coughs coming from their classmates was evidence enough. She had broken them; she, Maya Penelope Hart had destroyed their friendship and left them in this shattered heap of what ifs and used to be's. At lunch, they sat together as they always did but it was just habit and the lack of any other place to go, they ate in silence, Riley, ever happy Riley tried her best to keep things light but even she could not penetrate the black cloud hanging over them. Cory stood by, on cafeteria duty that day watching their table, sadness rife in the air. He hated to see the group in such obvious disarray and pain but in his wisdom and experience knew it had to come to this - the phoenix must die before it can rise anew from its ashes. When school was over he took his daughter and her best friend home where they all but crawled into the bay window and sat dejected and forlorn.

"Maya this has to stop," Riley eventually said breaking the silence.

"I know but I can't make Lucas come to you, Riles," Maya replied, still blind to the truth of what was really going on.

"He won't come to me Peaches, he wants you, he told me so himself."

"Riley you don't understand, I know he likes you, I know this, why can't you see it?" Maya leant forward, her face pleading with her friend to accept her words.

"NO Maya, why can't you see it? He likes you, if he wanted me he would have come by now, he would have told me, he doesn't want me, he wants you," Riley said back vehemently.

"He hasn't come to you because he cares enough about me as a friend that he doesn't want to hurt me by coming to you straight away, he's waiting for things to calm down and then he will come, trust me, Riles there's no way he won't come to you eventually," Maya said, her tone of voice quieting to a softly spoken miserable whisper. It was true, Lucas was a good guy, he would wait so as not to hurt her, she didn't know why she hadn't expected that, it was a Lucas thing to do, his friends came first. She glanced over at Riley when she didn't reply and saw the sad smile on her face, the gentle shake of her head. Riley didn't believe her, no matter what she said Riley didn't believe her. She stood up; this was all so messed up. She'd messed it all up and she needed to fix it, now. Riley watched in a mix of mild confusion and reluctant hope as Maya climbed out the bay window, maybe she had gotten through to her stubborn friend.

It was the first time she'd sought Lucas out at his home, even his mom had blinked at her like she was an apparition, she'd let her in of course but Maya wasn't naïve enough not to see the poorly disguised interest in the older woman's eyes. Lucas himself stared at her as he came down the stairs in answer to his mother's call. Their eyes locked and that mysterious jittery feeling she always felt whenever she was around him began to swell in the air around her, dancing over her skin sending pinpricks of goose bumps scampering over her arms. So lost in each other's eyes, they didn't even notice Lucas' mom leaving the room. Lucas, itching to sit beside her on the two-seater sofa she had chosen, reluctantly took the recliner across her, despite the sudden burst of hope blooming in his stomach he was clueless as to why she was truly in his house.

"Maya, I'm gl-," he began when the silence stretched and it didn't appear as though she was going to ever speak.

"Lucas, I need to say something and you need to listen," she cut him off.

He shut his mouth and nodded a slight frown beginning on his brow. He did _not_ like her tone.

"Lucas, you chose Riley, I know that but for whatever reason you haven't taken the next step and I know it's because you don't want to hurt me but I told you I don't like you in that way, it was all just a misunderstanding so why haven't you gone to Riley, you can finally be a couple, I'm no longer part of the triangle so you don't have to worry about me anymore," she said.

He was staring at her again and she squirmed under his gaze wondering at his silence. When it stretched, she stood up, thinking Lucas needed space to process his words.

"I guess I'll go but Lucas I'm serious, go to Riley she is waiting for you," Maya said with a distinct note of finality in her voice. Once again Lucas watched her go, once again lost for words and once again thinking how confusing girls were. He spent the rest of the afternoon in a haze, his mother having heard the short conversation from her perch she guiltily kept behind the door, wisely left him to his own devices but wondered absently to herself why the blonde girl she knew as Maya was lying so blatantly to her son, wondering at the same time why her son couldn't see it as clearly as she had.

The next day at school, things weren't any better but this time Lucas was a man on a mission. He cornered Riley in the school cafeteria and ushered her into a corner away from listening ears.

"Lucas, what's going on? Did Maya talk to you?" she asked quickly.

"According to Maya, she doesn't like me, like at all, she says you misunderstood her feelings and that it's OK for you and I to be together, that we won't hurt her but then you tell me she does like me and I don't know who is telling the truth anymore, I want to believe you because if you _are_ right then Maya took a step back for you when I first started here and now she could be doing it again but then what if you're wrong and she really doesn't like me and if I tell her how I feel she could laugh in my face or call me some stupid nickname, Riley I am so confused and I don't know what to do."

Riley stared at him with a mixture of sympathy and pity on her face. He truly sounded confused but she also believed he needed to talk to Maya, properly this time. She laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him.

"Lucas, firstly, I _am_ right and so are you, Maya is definitely taking a step back here, maybe not even for me, maybe just to protect herself, you and I both know Maya doesn't let anybody too close because she's scared she'll get hurt. I think she has convinced herself that she could never compete with me and has taken herself out of the running before you can tell her you chose me and she gets hurt and secondly, I think you really need to talk to her, tell her how you feel, she's been hurt enough and she's taken all the risk here, I know I was the one to tell you about her feelings but it was Maya whose heart was on the line, I think the least you can do is be brave enough to tell her how you really feel. My dad always says at home when we're too scared to believe in our dreams, actually he has two sayings for it, he says _'no pain no gain Riley, and nothing ventured nothing gained, don't ever forget that, always have the courage to try'_ , I think you need to risk it Lucas or you and Maya may never be happy," she said softly but firmly with true conviction in her voice.

Lucas sighed and his shoulders dropped. Riley was right, he owed it to himself and to Maya to put his heart on the line. She had, Maya with the armoured wall she had built to protect herself had opened a door for him and if she had the courage to do it then so could he.

Maya was leaving, she felt tired, deflated, once again she had seen Lucas and Riley together and assumed Lucas had made his play. Now, she was ditching, she didn't have the emotional energy for the rest of the day. Of course, with history being her next class she'd hear all about it from Mr Matthews later but at that moment, she didn't care, not even a little bit, not even the Riley part of her that made up her conscience. Well that wasn't true, that was the one part that did still care but she was too far gone to listen to it. Ditching without being caught would be tricky because she had to pass the classroom to get out the school but she'd done it before, way back before she'd started listening to Riley, before she'd started caring about her future. She sucked in a deep breath of air before hurrying past the class, knowing it would look more conspicuous to duck-run but fighting the urge to do it anyway. She just hoped Riley's dad was facing the rest of the class at that moment or she'd be toast. Once past, she let out the breath she'd been holding and hurried out of the school grounds, relieved to be out in the fresh air with no one the wiser. At least she thought no one knew for one person had seen her and had immediately summed up her plan and it was the solid push he needed to make his move. It was a startled class and a less than amused teacher that watched Lucas Friar bolt out of his chair and run out of class. Only Riley suspected the true cause having wisely assumed her best friend wasn't showing up for class that day. Doing what any best friend would do, she reassured her father that Lucas had a very good reason for leaving class without permission. It was a testament to Cory's relationship with his daughter and his resounding knowledge of the drama going on that he took her completely at her word and continued to teach his class.

"Maya!"

Maya froze at Lucas' voice. She didn't turn around, her face was showing her shock and every other emotion at that moment, she could feel it on her features and she wasn't prepared to share them with Lucas.

"Maya, we need to talk," Lucas said as he stopped behind her. He knew her enough to know she didn't want to look at him yet but now that he'd made up his mind, he was patient again, he could wait, she wasn't leaving this school without knowing how he felt.

"Haven't we talked enough, what's left to say, tomorrow everything will be back to normal again?" she replied.

"No, you've talked enough, now it's your turn to listen," he said. He stepped around her but she kept her head bowed.

"Lucas, there's no ne-,"

He grabbed her collar as she had so often done to him and dragged her close so they were face to face. "Stop talking Maya, just listen," he interrupted her and she snapped her mouth shut her eyes wide in shock at the manhandling. "I don't really know what's going on at the moment, Maya, one minute you like me the next you don't, Riley is the only one who seems to understand exactly what's going on and at the moment, I'm listening to Riley because she says you do like me and I really need her to be right, you know why, Maya?"

Maya shook her head, hope burgeoning in her blue eyes.

"Because I chose you, I like you, Maya, I can't tell you when or how but you're the one that I want to be with, I realised it that night on the porch in Texas already but I never found the right time to tell you and when I was ready to, you knocked me right off my horse when you told me you suddenly didn't like me anymore but the thing is, if Riley is right, if I'm right, that was a lie, that you really do still like me, do you Maya, do you still like me?" he asked her, breathing hard from his monologue.

Maya stared at him in open shock. It was one thing hearing it from Riley, that she could easily dispute or ignore but hearing it right from the source, from Lucas? How could she not believe him, how could it not be true? She knew as sure as she knew her own name that while Lucas might withhold his true feelings for either one of them in order not to hurt the one he didn't choose, he would never physically lie to her face and tell her he liked her if he didn't. She met his gaze and saw conviction in his eyes, truth, youthful desire, hope even. She wanted to smile, to jump into his arms, to have her first kiss right at that moment and then right when she was ready to accept happiness, a shadow of a doubt whispered through her. What about all those times in the past few days even in Texas, when she'd seen him with Riley, seen them holding on to each other, hugging, whispering in a closed corner together? The beginnings of that smile just waiting to burst through on her lips died and she shook her head, taking a step away from Lucas. Faintly, she saw his own smile fade as she backed away from him, his hold on her shirt loosening until he was barely holding on to her.

"You're lying, you chose Riley, I've seen you together, hugging, whispering, I don't know what you think you're doing by telling me you like me when clearly it's Riley that you've chosen but I know the truth, you can't fool me," she bit out and wrenching her shirt completely out of his grip, she whirled around to leave.

She hadn't even taken a step when she felt arms come around her and she was pulled flush against Lucas chest, she felt the ragged shifting of his torso against her back as he breathed heavily with adrenalin. Maya squirmed and struggled, desperate to get out of his embrace. He loosened his grip for a second but only to turn her around in his arms. Her hands found his chest and she pushed against him but Lucas was Texan born, he'd been raised wrestling cows and riding horses and doing heavy manual labour, he was strong, even for a 7th grader, on top of that, he had the sheer stubbornness and determination of a boy who made his choice of who he wanted to be with and he wasn't letting her get away.

"Maya, can you just stop for a second!" he commanded, exasperated with her struggling.

Miraculously, she stilled.

"I am not a liar, I like you! I want you, not Riley not anybody, just _you_ and I _am_ going to stand here all day holding you until you believe me, even when school lets out and every student in this school sees us, I'm not letting you go until you get it into your beautiful but thick head that you're my girlfriend now."

 _ **HE LIKES ME! HE REALLY LIKES ME!**_ The words clamoured through said thick head and Maya suddenly wished she could scream it to the world but some semblance of decorum still lingered in her mind, a mind otherwise turned to jelly at Lucas' heartfelt declaration. This time she could not doubt him, it was impossible. His voice reverberated with sheer truth and sincerity. He was no more lying than she was a redhead.

Instead, she repeated his words softly, "You like me?'

"Yes, Maya, I do," he reassured her.

"You chose me," it was said in disbelief but Lucas knew she had finally accepted it.

He pulled her closer, relieved at the ease with which she came and lowered his head. Her eyes widened as she correctly deduced his intention and then slid shut as his mouth touched hers and his lips claimed hers in a first kiss she would remember as long as she was still breathing. Despite neither of them wanting to display their newfound relationship especially not to their friends before they'd at least talked further on the subject, they were completely lost in each other. They were locked in an embrace, kissing and laughing and hugging and kissing again, completely oblivious to the world as the final bell went and the grounds filled with students. They broke apart when they finally realised they weren't alone, laughing in sheer happiness at the cheers of their classmates, at the happy smiles of their friends, even Riley who though still felt mildly sad, could not describe the happiness she felt at her best friend being so obviously and deliriously happy. Things had worked out, Maya was happy and as any best friend would tell you, that was what mattered, that made going out to meet the world worth it; that made it _**all**_ worth it.

THE END


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